Flight flips when shorts sag

By Courtesy of UNM Athletics
Junior college transfer Deshon Marman backpedals during spring football practice at the UNM football practice fields. Marman was arrested Wednesday on an Albuquerque-bound flight from San Francisco for having saggy pants.

UNM football player Deshon Marman has yet to play a single down for the Lobo football team, but he’s already made a name for himself.

San Francisco Police said Marman — a junior college transfer defensive back — was arrested at the San Francisco International Airport for sagging his pajama pants while boarding a US Airways flight back to Albuquerque on Wednesday.

San Francisco Police Sgt. Michael Rodriguez said an employee of the airline noticed Marman’s pants were “below his buttock, but above the knees, and his boxer shorts were showing” during the boarding process at the airplane’s terminal.

Marman released a statement Friday addressing the incident.

“I am embarrassed at the negative attention that has been brought upon my family, my football team, my teammates and most of all myself,” he said.

Rodriguez said in a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle that the US Airways employee asked Marman to pull up his pants. Marman refused and was asked to leave the plane.

After 15 to 20 minutes, Marman was escorted off the plane and cited for trespassing, battery and resisting arrest, Rodriguez said.

Marman spent Wednesday night in the San Mateo County jail, appeared in front of a San Francisco judge on Thursday and was released on $11,000 bail Friday.

Head football coach Mike Locksley said in a statement released late Thursday that the coaching staff was made aware of the incident.

“It is never positive when you have a student-athlete arrested, no matter what the circumstances are,” Locksley said. “We plan to support (Marman), and we plan to help him move forward.”

Donna Doyle, Marman’s mother, told the San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday that her son was flying home from San Francisco after attending the funeral of his friend David Henderson.

Henderson was a San Francisco high school football star running back. He suffered multiple gunshots to his back and head on May 26 and died in a San Francisco-area hospital on June 6.

Doyle said her son was still emotional from Henderson’s death and services.

However, sensitive state or not, Marman didn’t meet US Airways dress code.

Valerie Wunder, a US Airways spokeswoman, said the airline has a clothing policy for passengers and it forbids “indecent exposure or inappropriate” attire.

Marman said that his actions don’t reflect him personally, the University or the football team.

“I want to thank everyone for their generous outpouring of support for my family and myself, and I look forward to returning to UNM and to the practice field,” he said.

A YouTube video was posted Saturday by one of the passengers on the same US Airways flight.

The three-minute video shows a flight attendant and a police officer in the aisle of the plane with Marman in his seat.

The video shows the three men engaged in conversation.

The sound and picture quality of the video are poor, but Marman is heard telling the flight attendant and officer repeatedly he “didn’t do nothing to nobody” while boarding the aircraft.

Marman said he will let the situation play out in the court
system.

“I believe in due time all the facts of the matter will come to light,” he said. “I personally will have no further comments on this issue. Any additional comments regarding this case will be handled by my legal counsel.”